


Element X

by Color_Guardian



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Eden Prime (Mass Effect), F/F, F/M, Mordern Girl in Mass Effect, Multi, OC from the past, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:53:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24991099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Color_Guardian/pseuds/Color_Guardian
Summary: A meteor throws Lia into the future, and not just any future. The game she obsessed over night after night has become her new reality. Faced with endless possibilities, Lia must decide what future she wants to help shape. Should she change everything drastically, should she tweak little things from the background, or should she fade into nothing to keep the future safe? Are there any guarantees? Absolutely not.
Relationships: Garrus Vakarian/Original Female Character(s), OC/Garrus Vakarian
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. Like a Rainstorm

**Author's Note:**

> Take note that this chapter is completely different. I decided to start from Lia's entrance into the Mass Effect world rather than a flashback style. Enjoy!

“I hate patrolling up here.”

“Me too, but you know Aria would have our hides if we skipped life support. Imagine if those idiot vorcha got up here and messed around. Half the station would suffocate.” The massive krogan replied to his batarian patrol partner.

“Yeah yeah. Doesn’t mean I have to like it though.”

Patriarch and Bray continued to walk through life support with their hands relaxed on their guns. No one would dare risk Aria’s ire by coming to this section of Omega. Even the few who would dare wouldn’t mess with the station’s life support to do it. Patriarch would never admit it, but he hated patrolling up here as much as Bray did, though for different reasons. Aria loved to send him out for the easiest patrols to put him on display and simultaneously remind him of his place. 

Patriarch growled lowly, drawing Bray’s attention. Bray just smirked as he turned his attention back to the patrol route. Aria’s right hand batarian knew exactly how much he hated this. The old krogan began to walk faster; they were about to reach the center of life support, and subsequently, the end of their patrol. Bray pulled up his omni tool and entered the door labeled Life Support Control.

As soon as the doors opened Patriarch knew something was wrong. He hadn’t smelled a rainstorm in hundreds of years, and yet, that’s exactly what it smelled like in the small room. The source was immediately obvious. A soaked human girl was laying right in the middle of the floor, and stranger still, she was completely knocked out. Next to him, Bray pointed his gun at the girl. For the first time ever, Patriarch was glad to have Bray out on patrol with him. Another of Aria’s guards might have already shot her, but Bray was doing the same thing he was: taking in the scene before him.

“Something isn’t right here Bray. The girl smells like a rainstorm. Omega smells like a lot of things, but it sure in the hell doesn’t smell like rain.” 

“I know. And look. She’s soaking wet, but there aren’t any tracks at all. It’s like… shit, I don’t know what it’s like, but I don’t like it.” Bray had been about to say it was like she just appeared up here, but Patriarch knew he hadn’t said it for how crazy it sounded. Unfortunately, Patriarch was thinking the exact same thing.

“Why don’t we scan her and see what we can find out.”

“Good Idea.” Bray said as he bent down. He pulled up his omni tool and started some scans. At first nothing seemed to be amiss, but then Bray began to frown and shake his head side to side, “A lot of this makes sense. She’s human, obviously. About 19 in terms of human age. The majority of the readings are normal for a human female except this one.” Bray showed the omni tool to Patriarch.

“She has no element zero exposure. So? What’s the big deal about that?” Bray was already shaking his head before Patriarch finished. 

“It can’t be right. The only people who have no exposure are those who are born and raised on their home world or colony. Once you do any kind of space travel you start accumulating small amounts of eezo exposure.” Bray explained.

Patriarch remembered now. He really was getting old. Low levels of eezo exposure were expected in any space traveler. Some species even kept track of it with little pins on their shirts or armor. Asari were naturally biotic so they didn’t worry about such things. The pins were common in a lot of military factions, with the majority having forced retirement for soldiers whose exposure levels had reached the limit. Patriarch gazed down at the girl. 

“Yeah, I’d forgotten that. So how does a human girl end up on a space station smelling like a rainstorm with no traces of eezo?” Patriarch was almost excited. This was the most interesting thing he’d been able to see for a long time. Bray, however, looked troubled.

“I have no fucking idea. And to make matters worse, she has no omni tool.” Bray rubbed his forehead above his second set of eyes, “We better take her to Aria’s holding cells. There’s no way she’s not going to be interested in this. We’ll stop by supply and get a translator bracelet.”

Patriarch grunted and holstered his gun. He bent down and threw the human over his shoulder. She seemed a bit small for a human and freezing cold, but that wasn’t his problem. They set off back the way they came at a brisk pace while Patriarch kept a firm grip on his prize. This girl was a mystery, and he wandered if Aria would be able to solve it.

…  
Water. I need some water. Brrrrr. And a blanket. Is the thermostat not working again? Campus maintenance literally just fixed it. Lia cracked an eye open, and then set up as fast as possible. This wasn’t right. She wasn’t back in her dorm at all. She was lying on the floor of a very small room with no windows and one door. The floor was concrete, which explained only a little of why she was so sore. The walls seemed to be sheer metal top to bottom. The door caught her eye again. There’s no handle! Lia raced over to the door and searched for anything that would open. There was nothing. She was beginning to panic as she started beating on the door.

“Hello! Is anyone there? Let me out!” Lia continued to yell for a few minutes before slinking back into the room tiredly. If anyone was out there, they sure weren’t answering her. Lia’s scrutiny turned to herself. She looked down and realized she was still in her jeans and N7 t-shirt. That was right! She’d went to get an autograph from one of the writers of her favorite game series. Lia thought hard about what she could remember, but only came up with flashes after leaving the signing. There was her driving back to the dorm, a flash maybe, pouring rain, and a big pink rock? It was a jumbled mess in her mind, and it was giving her a very bad headache to try and recall it. She’d sunk down by the wall on the far side of the room from the door when it opened.

Three people walked in the door. At first all she processed was one being a female, one a male, and the other as just being very large. Then her mind caught up to her eyes. In the middle was the most striking cosplay of Aria she had ever seen. The detail became more impressive when she looked to the left at the batarian and right at the krogan. She could hazard a guess who they were supposed to be cosplaying but couldn’t be sure.

“Wow. Those outfits are incredible. Did you make them yourself? And how on earth did you get that shade of purple just right on your skin?” Lia asked. This was obviously some grand joke, and she had to admit she was impressed. Up until she’d spoken, the three had all been just staring at her. Now though they were sharing indecipherable looks amongst themselves. What she’d said was apparently very far off from what they expected. She tried flattery again, “I mean those costumes are great. I’ve seen some really good ones, but you guys blow them all out of the water.”

The one dressed as Aria was starting to look pissed. “Distractions won’t work girl. Why were you in life support? What was your plan? Who do you work for?” Damn, she sounded a bit like her too. All Lia could do was stare blankly at her. Was she supposed to answer? Surely, they had had their fun and would be revealing the joke soon.

She had no time to come up with an answer. A wave of purple rolled off Aria. Suddenly Lia was lifted up the wall in a hold that defied gravity. Lia’s world dropped out from under her in more ways than one. Biotics were not something that could be faked for a joke. Her mind fought her tooth and nail as she arrived at the only plausible explanation. This woman was Aria T’loak. 

“There is only one rule on Omega. Don’t fuck with Aria. You’re about to break it.” Aria snarled. Lia couldn’t do anything else as the panic gripped her. She began to laugh. Loudly. I’m falling apart she realized. This couldn’t be reality. She’d gone nuts. Tears poured down her face as her laughter continued. She realized dimly that she was shaking. Aria was looking even more pissed off now, and Lia didn’t know how that was possible. Aria reared the hand back that wasn’t biotically pinning her to the wall. Before she could strike Lia there was a small grunt from behind Aria.

“Aria I don’t think you’re going to get anything else out of her. You can’t fake what is going on in the human’s brain. Her readings are all over the place. I think they call it a panic attack, or maybe an anxiety attack. I don’t know, but she’s going to have to come back to her senses on her own.” Bray told Aria. Panic sounded about right to Lia. Aria looked back at the krogan who was sporting an indecipherable look. Aria turned to her again before sneering at her and dropping both her fist and biotic hold. Lia flopped on the floor like a fish before finding her way into the fetal position.

“Make sure she doesn’t hurt herself. I still need to get answers out of her before she dies.” Aria swished out the door on that cheerful note, leaving Bray and Patriarch with a broken girl to watch.  
…  
Aria traversed the halls of Omega with a practiced ease as she returned to her couch above Afterlife. She was absolutely pissed off at that human girl. She had hoped to question her quickly before airlocking her. Now here she was doing something unheard of by giving a prisoner a second chance. It had been the look in that old krogan’s eyes Aria told herself. She mostly kept him around as a trophy, but the old guy was invaluable for his strong intuitiveness as well. After they’d told her about their odd find, it had been Patriarch who had pressed her into questioning the girl. She would have anyway due to the circumstances of the human’s appearance, but the way Patriarch had looked at her had had her biotics flaring. He had given her that look again after Bray had told her the questioning was now useless. He was clearly challenging her to see if she could figure the human out.

Aria sat on her couch with a sigh. She wouldn’t lie to herself; the girl was a mystery and the first round of questioning had only deepened it. She’d thought they were dressed up or something. Who in the galaxy would dress up as her? Or Bray? Patriarch? To top it off, she’d been utterly convincing in the genuineness of her words. Aria prided herself on her ability to pick lies from truth. Unfortunately, the only thing she’d walked away with was that the human thought they all looked good. She huffed. Aria would get to the bottom of this. Besides, she wasn’t about to give Patriarch the satisfaction of watching her fail to figure out one small human girl.  
…  
Lia slowly but surely came back to her senses. The krogan was still in the room, though the batarian was nowhere to be seen. She was still curled up in a ball and stayed there staring at the wall while her mind pieced together her predicament. These people were real. They were not actors or cosplayers, and no amount of special effects could recreate those biotics. Not to mention she could remember Aria saying something about killing her. She shied away from that thought. 

Less violent thoughts pressed in on her. If that was Aria, then she must be on Omega. The krogan in here with her was likely Patriarch and the batarian could be Bray. She’d been found somewhere she was definitely not supposed to be. She remembered Aria asking her why she was in life support. That was likely where she’d been found. So, if she was on Omega in deep shit, that posed an important question. When was she? Her head still hurt, but she spurred her tired mind on. She had no idea what the lifespan of a batarian was, or if that even was Bray. Aria and Patriarch were super old, so that didn’t really tell her anything either. Maybe no time at all had passed, but something niggled in the back of her brain saying that was not the case.

Alright, the when was not going to get an answer. How in the hell had she gotten here? She remembered the pink glowing rock. Where had it been? She sucked in a breath as she recalled it. A meteor had fell right in the middle of the road, effectively blocking her way to the dorm. It was so strange because it was glowing pink of all colors. She had gotten out of her car to get a closer look and get some good photos of it. Her roommate was not going to believe it. As Lia had drawn close to it, she had tripped, landing near the glowing pink surface of the meteor. She had reached out to find her phone and had touched the meteor instead. 

The memory had gripped her so hard that she softly cried out in remembrance of the pain. The pain of touching the pink rock had been blinding. There was nothing but darkness after that. Lia sat up and pressed her back to the wall. She stared at the hand that had touched the meteor. Her hand should have been extra crispy after being fried like that. It wasn’t, though it wasn’t totally unmarked. In the center of her palm was a bright pink X. She carefully touched it with her other hand. It felt just like some of the other scars she sported on her body. Why did it have to be pink? I hate pink. As she traced the X, her eyes caught on the bracelet on her other hand. She frowned and went to take it off to get a closer look.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Aria will probably go ahead and airlock you if you can’t answer her questions.” The krogan grunted. She looked up to find him watching her. He probably had been since she’d cried out a moment ago. Lia chose not to answer him and looked back at the bracelet. The only thing she could figure was that it was a translator. She let it be for now. A language barrier was the last thing she needed.

The two continued on in silence. Lia would like to say she spent that time planning her escape, but she did not. Instead she thought about home. For the first time in her life she’d been happy. After escaping the foster system at 18, she’d went to college and hadn’t looked back. She remembered her freshman year and how she spent some of her financial aid on a computer good enough to game on. Foster care hadn’t afforded her much time to pursue her favorite hobby, but she was determined to catch up. Her general education classes had been far from taxing, so she’d used all her free time to game. So far adulthood had been much simpler than her childhood, and right now she craved that simplicity.

“Aria’s coming back soon. If I were you, I’d answer her questions kid. It’s rare enough she gave you a second chance to do so.” The krogan interrupted her reminiscing. She stared at him and simply nodded. Lia was surprised when he chuckled, “You are an odd one. This is going to be fun.” She really wished he meant fun for her instead of for him.


	2. Questions and answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that the first chapter is now different. I decided it was best to start from the very beginning with Lia rather than begin at ME1. Thank you for your patience with me.

Patriarch stepped back in with a dingy cup. His eyes never left her as he walked over and sat the cup down in front of her legs. It only took Lia a moment to realize it was water. In less than ten seconds it was gone. The only other time she had been this desperate for hydration had been in one of the more awful homes she’d stayed in. No time to dwell on the past now though. The water brought clarity with it. If Aria was coming, she needed to figure out what to say so she didn’t die. A very short deliberation brought her to the only option she really had. There was no story to spin or lie that would help. All she had was the truth. It would have to do. The lone door opened, admitting Aria and maybe-Bray back in. Aria only spared her a glance before turning to Patriarch.

“I didn’t say she could have water Patriarch.” The krogan just grunted. Aria frowned down at her, “At least she seems to be in control of herself.” Aria stepped back out of the room and back in with a chair. She turned it around and straddled it across from Lia, “Are you ready to answer questions girl?”

“Yes.” Lia’s voice squeaked out.

“Good. And don’t even think about lying. I can tell when someone’s lying, and if you do, you die. Understand?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s start simple so you don’t lose your mind again. What is your name?”

“Lia.” Aria didn’t miss the look that crossed Lia’s features at the ‘losing her mind’ remark. Aria just smirked and continued.

“How about a last name Lia. I know you humans have them.” Aria was being awfully gentle, and Lia didn’t know whether to be grateful or wary. She settled on both.

“Jones.” Lia wanted to tell Aria not to use that name, but she figured short and simple answers would benefit her most. 

“Good. Now we get more complicated.” Lia had the distinct feeling that Aria had just used those questions to gage her responses like a damn lie detector. Aria continued her with her question, “How did you get into life support?” 

Lia looked down for a moment, but quickly looked back up. The truth was all she had no matter how outlandish. Lia slowly recounted the story. How she had left her dorm to go to the signing of her favorite writer, and the rainstorm that she drove home in. Aria sat patiently like an asari statue while Lia described the meteor and the pain she’d felt. Lia finished by presenting her hand and saying she’d woke up in this room. Aria roughly grabbed her hand and looked at the scar before thrusting it back at Lia. Lia had no choice but to wait patiently as Aria decided what to do. 

“You’re insane. You believe what you’re saying, but it can’t possibly be true. How did an insane human wind up on my station?” This last question was addressed to Patriarch who just shrugged. Lia’s nerves combusted at being called crazy for the second time. She stood and with a face full of rage began yelling.

“I am not crazy! Run tests. Do what you have to.” A reckless thought struck and left her mouth before she could think better of it, “Is Mordin Solus here? He runs a clinic. He could tell you I’m not crazy!” Aria truly was looking at her like she had a screw loose now. Lia rushed at her out of angry stupidity and violently bounced back when she hit a biotic barrier.

“There is no Mordin Solus on Omega. You should sit down Lia. You aren’t well.” The tone of Aria’s voice broke Lia all over again. She’d heard it before from another of her foster parents. They had tried to make it seem like she was mental so they could get more money for keeping her. Lia would never forget how they had talked to her like a dumb dog to the point she began to wander if they were right. Lia backed up to the wall and slid back down. She should have known the truth wouldn’t work. It never had for any of her foster parents. Why would it now?  
…  
Aria stared at the girl as she collapsed in on herself yet again. This time was different than the first, but it didn’t matter. The girl was completely bonkers. A meteor and a weird x shaped scar were the best she could give. Every word had been the truth too. The truth as the girl knew it at least. She debated quickly on what she would do with her. The door to the cell closed behind them as Aria motioned for them to join her in the hall.

“So, airlock?” Bray asked.

“No, that kind of crazy has no place on Omega. Bray, there is a transport to the Citadel arriving in two weeks. I want her on it with a ticket straight to the asylum attached. Someone probably left her in life support as a sick joke, but I’m not going to play.” She looked at Patriarch and Bray both to make sure they understood, “Keep her alive and get her on that transport.” Aria didn’t wait for their answer before she was walking away.  
…  
Days passed in a blur for Lia as she waited for whatever fate Aria had decided. The only clue she had to how long it had been were her meals. Patriarch or Bray would bring her meals and escort her at gunpoint to the bathroom. She didn’t speak to them, nor they to her, and there was little of interest in the short trips to the toilet. Only metal hallways she would never find her way out of even if she did get free. The fifth meal, by Lia’s unreliable count, turned out different than the ones before. Instead of dropping her food and leaving, Patriarch sat down in the opposite corner from Lia. While Lia stared at him, he began to clean his gun. 

“I’m just an old krogan girl, no need to stare. Your food will get cold. Trust me it’s even nastier when it’s cold.” Patriarch grumbled as he took his shotgun apart. Lia began self-consciously picking at her food while she wondered why he’d decided to join her. Her head snapped back up as he began talking again, “I’ve been watching you close the past few days. I know Aria thinks you’re crazy as varren in heat, but I have my doubts.” Lia stared at him for moment more trying to figure out his game.

“Why?” It was the only word she could get out and it scratched her throat horribly. 

“It’s in the eyes human. All species have them and they all carry the same truth, if you know how to look for it.” Lia could only grunt softly at that. She didn’t remember Patriarch being so wise sounding. She continued her meal in silence. Patriarch left without a word once her food and his gun were finished.

The next three “days” continued in this manner. Lia wasn’t sure what he wanted, and it didn’t seem like he knew either. Everyday he would bring her food and ask some silly question. The day before it had been a question about the weather where she came from. Her answer had been the end of the conversation, and Patriarch once again left with her tray when they were done.

On the fourth day Patriarch upped the ante by asking, “Why exactly did you get so pissed off when Aria called you insane? You had to know your story sounds like shit. Krogan are well acquainted with anger and that looked personal.” Lia was too tired to find to a lie, so she once again went with the truth.

“When I was young a family that was supposed to take care of me tried to convince the world I was not right in the head. It started with ADHD and then bipolar and on to a whole host of things. They treated me like I was dumb constantly. The only thing that saved me was the guy in charge of the pills. He sent forms to my schoolteachers that always came back perfect. I was even luckier that he decided to talk to me in private and figure out what my foster parents were up to. I was out of that house within a week.”

“Why would they do that?” Patriarch looked troubled. Lia shook her surprise before answering. It was the first time he’d asked more than one question at a meal. 

“They wanted more money. The more troubled a kid is, the more money the foster parents get.” Lia shrugged. 

Patriarch grunted, “Humans are strange. Children are rare you know, but even before the genophage they were revered. Death in childbirth is considered a warrior’s death among Krogan, and it is a great honor to raise a welp not your own. We would never dream of treating a child in such a way.” 

“Must be nice.” Was all Lia could say.  
…

“What did you say?” Aria snarled at her omni tool. 

“Mordin Solus ma’am. It’s a salarian and he’s set up a clinic in the slums.” The very nervous voice answered.

“Find out everything you can about him immediately.” Aria hung up before her underling could answer. Today had been such a good day too. That damn transport was coming tomorrow to get the crazy human out of her care. She wasn’t a babysitter and hated wasting food on a useless mouth. Even worse, Patriarch had taken up with the girl for some reason she couldn’t fathom. Her omni tool pinged.

Information on Mordin Solus appeared on the screen. Former STG, brilliant scientist, and now clinic owner came through. He’d been on some black ops mission and came back retired. Nothing screamed ‘mission gone south’ quite like retirement. He’d quickly booked passage to Omega and bought some rooms in the slums. He was currently advertising for himself even with the remodeling going on. None of this concerned Aria as much as the dates. Two weeks ago, Dr. Solus had been an agent of the STG in impeccable standing. Two weeks ago, the insane human had asked for him by name like she fully expected him to be on Omega. Not even the Shadow Broker could have known he’d end up on Omega.

Aria flicked her tool closed and started pacing her balcony. She should have killed her when she had the chance, but it just hadn’t felt right. The girl had fooled her. Aria had been about to give her a free ticket to the Citadel and out of her reach. Well, this ‘Lia’ could forget that. She quickly put in a message to Bray and Patriarch not to put the girl on the transport. Aria needed to have another chat with her, and this one would not be so pleasant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading what I have so far. I'm going to try and update this story every Tuesday. Watch for the tags to change as we go. This story will earn it's Mature rating and probably be bumped up to explicit. Other relationships will also be added as I flesh out the story. Thanks for reading!


End file.
